Teen at Aulani

[LottiesMommy]

My husband and I are thinking of traveling back to Aulani with our 16 yo daughter. We have been to Aulani twice before when she was younger and we enjoyed it, but I am a bit worried a teen will not have a lot to do.

I see Teen Shakaoke! on the Daily 'Iwa and Teen Game Night (oddly, they seem to be on the same evenings two times a week). With how infrequently these are held, I am wondering if they are not very well attended.

Does anyone have experience bringing a teen and having them participate in these experiences? Were they well attended? Did they find it was easy to meet other teens while there?

My husband would really like to go back to Hawaii, but my daughter is concerned she will be lonely without anyone her age. She would prefer a Disney Cruise where there are more teen-centric activities. Before we put the Hawaii trip on hold until she goes to college, I figured I would ask experiences of those who have been there with a teen recently.

Before you may suggest - she would prefer not to bring a friend on the vacation since she has a lot of close friends, but not one particular "best friend" she would want to bring for a week (she thinks it would be hard to choose just one person to bring and we can't afford to bring two or three).

 

[Lilsia]

The first time we went, it was my 16 year old daughter and me. We had a blast. We toured the Island, tried a bunch of local foods, shopped at the local places, spent days at the beach, etc. My daughter would rent a stand up paddle board and really enjoyed that. She also did some of the activities at the community center like painting a ceramic pineapple and ukulele lessons. We were just thrilled to be able to go to Hawaii and loved every second of it. We had just as equal of an amazing experience the second time her and I went when she was 19.
You are as bored as you allow yourself to be. This is true with everything in life, life is what you make of it. I am kind of a keep it real type of person and would ask her if she prefers to stay home with grandparents or be "lonely" in Hawaii. She has both of her parents going with her. Have her do some research on the Island and see what interests her. There is so much to do there that I can't imagine anyone being bored.

 

[DLgal]

I guess she's an only child, and I can't speak to that situation, but this seems like a strange problem to have. She doesn't want to go to Hawaii because she won't have other teens to hang out with? When I was that age, I would have been more than able to have a good time with my parents or just by myself. Why does she need other teens to enjoy a vacation? Why not set up a few excursions and explore the island? I can kind of understand if you planned to just park it at Aulani for a week and never leave, she might get bored. But then just find other things to do so she won't be bored. If you want to just spend a week at Aulani and she's not into that, like you said, put that trip on hold until she's in college.

 

[LottiesMommy]

I feel like I may have inadvertently painted my daughter as a bit as an ungrateful teenager and that is far from the case. I feel terrible that it came across in that way.

Yes, we would spend a significant amount of time just sitting by the beach or sitting by the pool as a family. My husband has significant health and mobility challenges, so our family time involves a lot of just being together somewhere we can all sit and enjoy the scenery (read, talk, watch people paddleboard, etc). He doesn't usually travel with us, so when he does, it is a much less active holiday. We will of course also make time for she and I to get out and visit sites around the island as was suggested. But since we will also be spending most our days at the resort, she had thought having some teen activities would be fun.

If anyone has specific experience with the teen activities, I would still be interested in hearing if the teens thought they were fun and if the events were well attended.

 

[starry_solo]

Not a teen but a lot of time can be enjoyed in the lazy river and the two slides…

 

[Lilsia]

I feel like I may have inadvertently painted my daughter as a bit as an ungrateful teenager and that is far from the case. I feel terrible that it came across in that way.

Yes, we would spend a significant amount of time just sitting by the beach or sitting by the pool as a family. My husband has significant health and mobility challenges, so our family time involves a lot of just being together somewhere we can all sit and enjoy the scenery (read, talk, watch people paddleboard, etc). He doesn't usually travel with us, so when he does, it is a much less active holiday. We will of course also make time for she and I to get out and visit sites around the island as was suggested. But since we will also be spending most our days at the resort, she had thought having some teen activities would be fun.

If anyone has specific experience with the teen activities, I would still be interested in hearing if the teens thought they were fun and if the events were well attended.

Not at all, it is a tough age. They worry about things like this, then you worry. But things will be fine. She will have a great time. Once you get there and see what they have, you will see that you worried for nothing. Have a wonderful trip.

 

[OffToDWD]

My husband and I are thinking of traveling back to Aulani with our 16 yo daughter. We have been to Aulani twice before when she was younger and we enjoyed it, but I am a bit worried a teen will not have a lot to do.

I see Teen Shakaoke! on the Daily 'Iwa and Teen Game Night (oddly, they seem to be on the same evenings two times a week). With how infrequently these are held, I am wondering if they are not very well attended.

Does anyone have experience bringing a teen and having them participate in these experiences? Were they well attended? Did they find it was easy to meet other teens while there?

My husband would really like to go back to Hawaii, but my daughter is concerned she will be lonely without anyone her age. She would prefer a Disney Cruise where there are more teen-centric activities. Before we put the Hawaii trip on hold until she goes to college, I figured I would ask experiences of those who have been there with a teen recently.

Before you may suggest - she would prefer not to bring a friend on the vacation since she has a lot of close friends, but not one particular "best friend" she would want to bring for a week (she thinks it would be hard to choose just one person to bring and we can't afford to bring two or three).

We were there early June (last month) and my 15 year old went to the Teen Shakaoke! on a Tuesday. I believe they have the teen programs on Tuesdays and Fridays. He had a lot of fun but for that particular night, there were only 4 teens who attended. He decided not to stay for the teen game night (right afterwards) so he can join our own family game night instead. The cast member who lead it - Chavis, I believe is his name - was fantastic.

We also did the ukulele session. It's not geared towards teens specifically but my teen really enjoyed it. Afterwards we borrowed one so he can continue "practicing".

If she likes art, there are also painting sessions that she can try. I believe there's a cost to that though.

 

[Pigletpal40]

My husband and I are thinking of traveling back to Aulani with our 16 yo daughter. We have been to Aulani twice before when she was younger and we enjoyed it, but I am a bit worried a teen will not have a lot to do.

I see Teen Shakaoke! on the Daily 'Iwa and Teen Game Night (oddly, they seem to be on the same evenings two times a week). With how infrequently these are held, I am wondering if they are not very well attended.

Does anyone have experience bringing a teen and having them participate in these experiences? Were they well attended? Did they find it was easy to meet other teens while there?

My husband would really like to go back to Hawaii, but my daughter is concerned she will be lonely without anyone her age. She would prefer a Disney Cruise where there are more teen-centric activities. Before we put the Hawaii trip on hold until she goes to college, I figured I would ask experiences of those who have been there with a teen recently.

Before you may suggest - she would prefer not to bring a friend on the vacation since she has a lot of close friends, but not one particular "best friend" she would want to bring for a week (she thinks it would be hard to choose just one person to bring and we can't afford to bring two or three).

We just got back and our DS 17 was with my wife and I. We kept busy with day trips to Pearl, Diamond Head, Kuoloa Ranch, Waikiki Beach Area, Lighthouse Hike, Blow Hole. We all loved the resort's pools, hot tubs and Lazy River.
Went to Ko Olina Golf Course one day because that was the one thing he wanted.
He was very happy to be with his "Boomer" parents with very few complaints.

 

[tankin]

My oldest went around that age and had no issues keeping herself entertained when we had "resort" days

 

[Sydnerella]

There is also the spa which I did with my DD15 - I first had a massage and afterwards she came to have a facial that I had to sit in with her for but we both enjoyed the lovely outdoor rainforest room like space before her treatment and then the indoor lounges after. Thus I double dipped the outdoor space!

There’s also the painted sky salon for younger people.

We also have a 18 YO son so they always enjoy time together thus it’s not your situation. But they had Surfing lessons with the Ohana Surf Project on Waikiki. Super fun for parents to watch from beach chairs and enjoy a snack/drink together at the Barefoot Beach Cafe afterwards.

My introverted DD wouldn’t have played games/hung out with other teens there or on a cruise. She calls that forced fun - each kid is different! She loved to paddle board, read her many books in beach chairs, swim, snorkeling in reef. Play games with her brother. She would have done the painting or ukulele classes if we had time though. We did stargazing and that was fun for all along with Luau - she also would have done dancing lessons and work outs as she’s a dancer.

I like the idea of letting her research and select 1-2 excursions/on-site activities ($$$) and free one she likes and help plan out how to fit them in. She’s old enough to participate!

The Wanderlog app is a free, easy, teen friendly and fun way to do it together. Don’t buy premium version as u don’t really need it.

 

[AustinTink]

We have an only child and he would have been bored at Aulani with just us. Sure he could go off and do lots of things on his own without us but that’s not much of a trip for the kiddo, imo.

We have traveled all over and he has enjoyed teen lounges at various resorts when he was that age. His favorite by far was Atlantis. They had a teen dance club with mocktails and giant video games from floor to ceiling. He was in heaven.